Category: Primary

Our Disney topic has continued to bring to life a variety of magical tales. 

For Halloween week we explored “baddies” with the story of “101 Dalmatians”.  We danced to Cruella DeVil, found our photos hiding in the old DeVil house, made Dalmatian art, dressed up for our soft-start choices and had a pumpkin themed sensory play with red lentils (and communication boards!).  Our numeracy activity counted “Ten Little Monsters” and our spooky Halloween bucket featured a chance to make our own magic potion, and alongside the fun of seeing the bubbles when we combined ingredients it was also great to see how much more confident the class were to transition for a turn-taking activity.

We then moved on to “superheroes”, and who better than “The Incredibles” to animate the theme?!  We all enjoyed playing with superhero masks as our signifier for story time, so when we got to art we each had a chance to make our own superhero masks.   We sang superhero songs and looked out for our superhero selves flying across the interactive board.

Last week we explored the theme of “Princesses” with the story “Aladdin”.  We danced to songs from the film for our listening activities, spotted our photos flying across the interactive board on a magic carpet, counted Princesses for numeracy, for bucket time we were invited for a magic carpet ride, and in art we designed our own magic carpets.  Our messy play communication activity saw our princess picture on the tray with some amazing cornflake hair!

Where will our Disney adventures take us next?

We have had a busy Term 1 in room 8 and are excited to get going with term 2. In Term 1 we were getting used to the new things. For some children the room was new. For others it was staff that were new and the children had some peers they hadn’t been in a class with before. Everyone has settled into room 8 very well! We have been exploring our topic of Disney/showtime and have been making a start on working on our targets. 

The children have adjusted well to the routine we have developed in room 8. They enjoy the outdoor area just outside room 8 that has a slide and a see saw to play with, as well as a scooter and a trike. The children have been enjoying the usual activities we are able to have across the school week such as swimming and PE. 

In Term 2 we will be continuing the topic of Disney/Showtime until we hit December where winter festivities will take over! 

Hello from Room 6!

Last week, we had a fantastic time with the show MESS by Tenterhooks. The story was fun and full of surprises. Imagine a bunch of cleaners dancing and singing about how good they are at cleaning. But then, one cleaner finds a pink glove when all the others are yellow. This tiny mix-up leads to a big, fun mess!

The head cleaner gets caught up in the mess and turns into a colourful, messy creature. Everyone starts having a great time, dancing, and celebrating the joy of a little chaos.

What was cool about MESS was that it wasn’t just something to watch – it was an experience. The show gave us moments to think, feel, and join in. Sometimes, the cleaners would show us how to use props like buttons or gloves. 

Show Highlights:

• No speaking, just action
• Cool sounds and music
• Neat lights with mirrors and LEDs 
• Awesome group singing
• Interactive props for the audience: Big Mack button, rubber glove, vibrating speaker

Oh, and the best part? We could take the pink glove to the classroom! It’s like a small gift to remember the fun we had.

Thanks to everyone who made this show happen. It was a day to remember!

We’ve had a busy start to the year in Room 9!  We started the term with lots of time to explore our new class and friends, using the story “The Pigeon HAS to go to School” as our story focus for the start of term.  As part of this we have been able to build relationships and establish routines, including lots of movement activities throughout the day and diverse communication opportunities.  We’ve had lots of fun with our daily communication games, water play and messy play have supported some fab interactions!

Since then we’ve started to explore our Disney theme for the term, starting with “Toy Story”.  We’ve added sound effects to our own rocket launch, created space art, played along to music from the film, spotted our photos in “space” on the interactive board, sung space themed songs, and more.  In numeracy we counted “Ten Little Aliens” as we read the story of the same name.  A particular favourite was our space themed bucket time where we were able to launch a rocket for stage three – we’re loving bucket time at the moment in Room 9!

Last week we explored “Finding Nemo” (with lots of water play and a very wet bucket time!), this week we’re looking at “The Lion King”.  We’ll be continuing to explore a different Disney story every week or two.

In Room 5 we have lots of fun riding our bikes around the playground. Cycling trikes is really good for us to learn the reciprocal movement of our legs which helps with our coordination and balance. It also strengthens our leg muscles. At Orchard Brae we also have a trike which wheelchairs can be fastened onto so all the children can take part in cycling activities.

The primary 1’s have been enjoying Outdoor Education the past few weeks. They have been exploring the Winter Gardens at Duthie Park and the play park at Seaton Park. They had great fun looking at all the different flowers and plants in the Winter Gardens and playing on the different equipment at the play park. Watching the waterfall was definitely a favourite by all. 

Room 4 has enjoyed settling into the new school year and our new classroom. We have particularly enjoyed exploring the school’s new sensory room. The switch activated bubble tube and the sensory light curtains are a hit with our young learners. Our focus on “Disney” this term has allowed us to create some fantastic Mickey Mouse themed art. We used rollers, sponges and paint splats with a Mickey silhouette to create a display for our classroom. Following the Disney theme we have been using Disney song massage for relaxation time. 

Room 3 pupils are all actively engage in learning through play, messy play, mark making, books, and drumming. All the pupils have helped tidy up our Orchard Brae’s sensory garden.

Since returning to school after the summer holidays, we have been lucky enough to be able to enjoy the extended period of warm weather as we have reflected on our Summer holidays and some of the different activities we may have done. In particular we have thought about going to the seaside and have enjoyed exploring different themes alongside the Julia Donaldson story “What the Ladybird Heard at the Seaside”. We have engaged in a variety of sensory activities, including exploring sand (some ground up cereal), enjoyed feeling slimy seaweed (leaves collected from the playground and fresh runner beans) and of course enjoyed some water play whilst thinking about the different creatures that live in the sea. We have demonstrated our attention and listening skills, as well as communication (we especially liked when the whale splashed its grey tail!)

Introduction: This week in Room 6, our vibrant classroom dedicated to our incredible pupils, we embarked on an exciting journey to understand the magic behind rain clouds. Through the ‘Rain Cloud in a Jar’ experiment, our pupils experienced first hand the beauty of cloud formation and precipitation, making abstract concepts tangible and interactive.

Setting the Scene: The tables were adorned with clear jars, each waiting to hold its miniature sky. Pupils gathered around with twinkling eyes, eager to dive into the day’s experiment.

Materials We Used:

• Clear jars for every pupil
• Shaving cream
• Blue food colouring
• Water
• Pipettes

Our Step-by-Step Adventure:

1. Creating the Sky: Each jar was filled about three-quarters with water. This acted as our atmosphere, a canvas for our clouds and rain.
2. Cloud Formation: Pupils added with some support, a dollop of shaving cream atop the water, giggling as the fluffy “cloud” floated.
3. Rainfall Begins: A few drops of blue food colouring were mixed with water, and pupils, using their pipettes, gently added this mix onto their shaving cream clouds.
4. Magic Unfolds: The room was filled with gasps and smiles as the blue “rain” seeped through the clouds and cascaded down into the jars, beautifully mimicking a rainy day.

Behind the Magic: We learned together that clouds in our skies hold water. When they can’t hold anymore, they release it as rain. In our experiment, the shaving cream represented these clouds, and the blue water was our rain. When the clouds (shaving cream) became too heavy, they let the rain (blue water) fall.

Moments of Joy:

• Touch and Feel: Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed the tactile experience, from the shaving cream’s softness to the water’s coolness.
• Visual Delight: Watching the transformation from a plain jar of water to a weather phenomenon was a treat for all eyes.
• Learning Together: This simple experiment provided an avenue for understanding complex concepts, proving that learning has no boundaries.

Reflecting on Room 6’s Experience: Our ‘Rain Cloud in a Jar’ experiment was more than just an activity; it was a testament to our pupils’ boundless curiosity and capabilities in Room 6. While we dabbled with water, shaving cream, and food colouring, we uncovered lessons about patience, observation, and the wonders of nature. Here’s to many more weeks of discovery, learning, and joy!